HE BRINGS MERCY IN HIS BOAT
Don Manley ferries residents to fetch their possessions after Irma
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Don’t call Don Manley a hero. He hates the word, saying it is reserved for others facing greater challenges.
But for the people living in a flooded Southwest Florida community, the term seems appropriate.
The Imperial River spilled its banks into a Bonita Springs neighborhood after Hurricane Irma’s downpour, forcing feet of water into kitchens and living rooms. Many homes were still damp from huge rainstorms just a few weeks prior.
Locals escaped to shelters or sturdier homes as the hurricane passed, returning to rivers instead of streets. People wanted to get what little was left of their belongings, wading through dangerous waters with boxes of family photos and important documents.
The low-income area houses many Hispanic families, and immigration papers are vital to FEMA aid requests.
Don Manley drove by the flooded area a day after Irma hit and saw a boy floating down his street.
“I drove home, got my boat and went in the water,” he said.
Manley spent days in the boat, going up and down the swamped streets. Locals stood patiently near his boat trailer backed into Saunders Avenue, waiting for Manley to take them home.
His boat returned loaded with boxes, totes and garbage bags filled with people’s remaining treasures.
“If we’re 8 years old playing in dirty water in a boat, our moms would give us hell,” he said. “And now, we’re called heroes. Are you kidding me?”
It took more than a week of slowly receding flood waters to make the boat unnecessary. However, Manley went back to the neighborhood every day, trading out his boat trailer for a crowbar. Scores of volunteers like Manley now help residents gut their homes, tossing furniture and drywall in 6-foot-tall debris piles on the curb.
The gutting process will be long, Manley said. He’s personally worked through about 15 houses. More than 200 homes fill the flooded neighborhood.
But Manley’s personal love and investment in the area will keep him working through the end.
“People say, ‘Oh you’re wonderful,’ ” Manley said. “I say, ‘No, I’m not. I do this because I’m selfish.’ This is what I’m supposed to do.”
“People say, ‘Oh you’re wonderful.’ I say, ‘No, I’m not. I do this because I’m selfish.’ This is what I’m supposed to do.”